The names of the city and county of Derry or Londonderry in Northern Ireland are the subject of a naming dispute between Irish nationalists and unionists. Generally, although not always, nationalists favour using the name Derry, and unionists Londonderry. Legally, the city and county are called "Londonderry",[1] while the local government district containing the city is called "Derry City and Strabane".[2][3] The naming debate became particularly politicised at the outset of the Troubles, with the mention of either name acting as a shibboleth used to associate the speaker with one of Northern Ireland's two main communities. The district of Derry and Strabane was created in 2015, subsuming a district created in 1973 with the name "Londonderry", which changed to "Derry" in 1984.[4]
- ^ Weatherup 2007, §§ 33, 41
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
nisr2016n8was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Local Government Reform". Department of the Environment Northern Ireland. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ^ Weatherup 2007, § 17